Unique 10m WSPR spots to 1450z today

The little 500mW beacon has been on since last evening. LZ1OI (2153km) and 4X1RF (3519km) were  both spotting me very early and there have been plenty of stations spotting me already. This is the list of unique stations spotting me so far:

Unique station 10m WSPR reports today to 1450z.

In many cases, stations have copied me many times and this is not shown. 500mW seems quite enough to "blast a hole".   More power might help at times, but if the path is open 500mW is very often plenty with WSPR.

Sunspots - Tuesday Nov 18th 2014

Sunspot number today is 95 and 10m propagation is expected to be "good". Although my little WSPR-AXE beacon is being copied widely, nothing out of the ordinary so far.

Antarctica on 10m WSPR (500mW)

This morning, my tiny little 500mW WSPR-AXE beacon, designed by Jay (W5OLF), was copied in Antarctica by RI1ABR (13676km) in JB59mm square. This is the best DX so far with it.  Australia has, so far, eluded me. There are loads of USA stations spotting me.

See http://rt.com/news/russia-antarctic-stations-exploration-541/ .

Sunspots today - Nov 17th 2014

Sunspot number has fallen to 91 yet 10m daytime propagation is supposed to be "good".  Although 10m has yet again opened to the USA (weeks and weeks this has happened now) I would not describe conditions on 10m as particularly "good".  I am still waiting for my first Australian report when using the little beacon for example.  When the band is really "good" VK reports with the 500mW WSPR beacon should be no problem.

Dual band WSPRing

Since mid-afternoon I've been WSPRing on 2 bands at the same time. My little WSPR-AXE beacon (from W5OLF) puts out 27dBm on 10m and I used my FT817 to put out 30dBm ERP from my V2000 on 6m. Although 10m is resulting in plenty of reports, 6m is, yet again, DEAD with no stations received and no reports received. I'll leave both 6m and 10m WSPR running until after dark. Tomorrow I may try my earth-electrode antenna on MF (472kHz WSPR) at the same as 10m. As I use the Par antenna on 10m, I shall have to use the earth-electrode antenna on 472kHz.

UPDATE 1624z:   6m WSPR is still utterly DEAD. I keep plugging away on 6m to no avail. Not sure why I even bother!  10m, with half the power is far more productive: every day I get DX reports with the little WSPR-AXE 10m WSPR beacon at 500mW.
 
UPDATE 1925z:   6m WSPR again proved to be totally useless with not a single station copied here or copying me. Having tried so hard out of the Es season, I am now giving up on 6m until spring 2015.

UPDATE 1945z:    Just gone QRT on 6m, but left the 10m WSPR-AXE 500mW beacon still running.

UPDATE 1950z:   The last USA station appears to have been KB9AMG (6300km) at 1844z.

Last USA spot of the day?

It looks as if N2NOM (5581km) was the last USA spot of my little 500mW beacon today at 1812z. Since then, just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting me now.

UPDATE 2004z:  N2NOM was the last spot from the USA this evening.

UPDATE 2046z:  Now gone QRT - just G4IKZ now spotting me since 1812z.

146-147MHz allocated to UK full licencees under NoV - why?

My original post on this seems to have magically vanished. Don't know how this happened.

Basically, I totally fail to understand why OFCOM has allocated this band to some UK amateurs. It is only ad interim, by NoV to full licence holders, is only for a limited time, and only in a limited geographical area.

The 144-146MHz (2m band) is generally under-used in the UK and the rest of Europe and white noise is the most common thing to hear. Take a listen. It NEVER sounds busy here in Cambridgeshire, even in contests.

Personally, I would have preferred OFCOM to have given us smaller bands (100kHz wide?) at 40MHz and maybe 60MHz, renewed access to the old 73kHz band and allowed free access to 0-8.3kHz. The RSGB thinks the new 146-147MHz band will be used for digital TV experiments - this is rubbish - it is hard enough to get any DATV experiments at 432MHz and 1296MHz where most amateur TV takes place. Maybe a few very dedicated individuals will try DATV 146-147MHz, but just a handful.

Personally, I think OFCOM lost credibility allocating 146-147MHz to amateurs. This was clearly a sop to make up for messing with microwave bands. Far more radio science would have been possible with new allocations in other parts of the spectrum. There are already some beacons at 40MHz and 60MHz,which bands would have been ideal for Es experiments. 40MHz is mid-way between the 10m and 6m bands. Surely 50-100kHz could have been made available?

I hope OFCOM supports a contiguous 5MHz (60m) amateur allocation worldwide at WRC2015 next year. We'll need this in the quiet years ahead.

73kHz again?

Well I, for one, would welcome the chance to experiment on the 73kHz band. I can, I believe, legally (even without a licence) do so with earth-mode but I'd like to see how effective earth-electrode antennas work as radiating structures on this band. With modem digital techniques there are so many experiments to do.

Sadly, like much of our spectrum, this is now managed by "the military" in the UK so it is very unlikely we'll get access to this band again. When originally available in the UK, I was not active on LF.

10m - stateside

The first spot of my 500mW 10m beacon was at 1248z today by WB1FIG (5304km). Since then, several USA stations have spotted me, although I have not been spotted outside of Europe and the USA so far today.

Conditions seem "OK" on 10m, but certainly not what I'd call brilliant. For example, no spots from Asia, Africa or South America yet. I am still waiting for a first first spot of my little beacon from Australia.

UPDATE 1500z:   So far today reports of my little 500mW 10m beacon have been received from 28 different stations, so far. The majority of these are located in the USA and Canada.  Lots of hours left still today too!

UPDATE 1540z:    Best DX report today is still from K9AN (6505km).

UPDATE 1640z:   Best DX report today is from WA5NGP (7878km). Still no reports today from further afield. Time is running out today.

Sunspots - Sunday Nov 16th

Sunspot number today has declined to 100, but 10m daytime conditions are still  forecast to be "good". The forecasts suggest decent 10m F2 propagation. We'll see.

Moonraker

Ever since the spring when Moonraker supplied me with rubbish patch leads that just fell apart because the crimping was so poor, and a dual band VHF/UHF yagi antenna that had to be glued to fix one of the loose elements, Moonraker has not been my favourite supplier. They clearly did zero quality checks on the goods sold. I hope they have improved.

However they have some nice 10m radios at sensible prices including a 20W FM/AM unit for under £100 and a multi-mode 10m rig for under £150.

See http://www.moonraker.eu/ .

UPDATE 2200z:  Moonraker also supply PMR446 and LPD433 dual band transceivers. The latter band is within the 70cm amateur band, which is perfectly legal at 10mW with no amateur licence, here in the UK. On UHF, 10mW goes a long way from a local high spot. See http://www.moonraker.eu/professional-radio-and-446/pmr-446 . There are several to choose from.

http://www.moonraker.eu/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/602f0fa2c1f0d1ba5e241f914e856ff9/S/L/SL-02_big.jpg

Last stateside 10m spot today

The last USA spot of my WSPR-AXE 500mW 10m beacon, thanks to Jay W5OLF, was W3CSW (5886km) at 1850z. Since then just local G4IKZ.

The little 10m WSPR beacon still impresses me greatly.  It is tiny yet seems to produce the magic of good reports from across the planet, and no PC is needed.

UPDATE 2053z:  The little 10m beacon was switched off just now at 2050z. Although plenty of USA stations received me, I was quite surprised not to be spotted further away today. There is no doubt in my mind that world-wide 10m spots will be achieved with this little unit. It is the best investment I have ever made in our hobby. I can't praise it highly enough. It proves size and cost do not matter!

Yaesu FT 991 - all mode, all band transceiver

This rig does look like it will be popular, although at a stated UK price of £999 I have my doubts. This seems VERY high to me when the FT840D now sells for £619 before negotiation for a cash deal. UK exchange rates with Japan (£-Yen) have greatly improved, so rig prices should be falling dramatically. At £699, rather than £999 I can see it doing very well. Far less well at £999. In the USA expect to pay $999.

See http://qrznow.com/yaesu-ft-991/ for pictures and a video.  I see the rig has now passed FCC testing .  I have no news of CE approvals in Europe. Don't expect we'll see it in Europe before spring 2015.

I do hope dealers in the UK offer it at a sensible price. Get the price right and you deserve to sell lots of these units. Personally, I'd like to see a 10W or 30W version but doubt this will come in Europe or the USA. Of course, an FT817 replacement might be on the cards? We live in eternal hope.

Unique reports with the 500mW WSPR-AXE 10m beacon today

My little W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon - it really is TINY - has been going great guns again. These were the unique 10m WSPR spots today, so far.   Of course, several stations spotted me many times.  As previously, plenty of 10m USA spots in the log.

Sunspots today

The sunspot number today has risen to 117 and 10m propagation was forecast to be "good". F2 propagation on 10m looks promising.

UPDATE 2120z:   Although the band was open (again) to the USA, my little 500mW beacon was not spotted further away. Maybe tomorrow.

Going backwards?

After many many years of good service our HP "all in one" low cost printer, scanner and copier has finally died: it would probably cost far more to mend than replace.  So, a few days ago I bought the nearest equivalent. It was delivered today. An HP Deskjet 2540, bought as I was so impressed with the original HP machine.

Why is it that things seem to go backwards? OK, the new machine also supports wireless printing, but I found the set-up more difficult and far less intuitive.  The "easy start" guide which was purely diagrammatic was confusing.  Even installing the cartridges seemed more tricky. In one of my 2 laptops the CD failed to read.

They call it progress.

10m USA - again

Yet again, 10m is open to the USA even with my 500mW WSPR-AXE beacon. Not sure when it first opened but several USA stations were spotting me around tea time including KB9AMG, KF4FX and WA0JYF, all over 6300km.

For most of the day UR/SWL56 was spotting my 500mW beacon (76 spots!) at strengths up to an amazing +2dB S/N. For most of the afternoon, the USA stations were not spotting me. I did a re-sync at tea time and since then they have been copying me. This may be purely co-incidental and just "conditions". If I had not been spotted so consistently by UR/SWL56 I would suspect a small buglet in the WSPR-AXE software, but somehow this seems unlikely.

Anyway, now I am getting plenty of USA reports.

UPDATE 1910z:    WG2Z (5600km) was still spotting me at 1850z, but since then just local G4IKZ (18km). We'll soon see if there are later USA spots, but I suspect that is it.

UPDATE 2045z:   The last spots from the USA of my 500mW beacon were KC2GMM, N2NOM and  WG2Z all at 1850z. 10m has opened to the USA every afternoon for weeks and weeks now.

Sunspot number - Nov 14th 2014

The sunspot number is 104 today with 10m propagation forecast to be "good".    Although 10m opened to the USA yet again yesterday, it has been quite quiet here so far today.

Ten Tec Argonauts

http://www.eham.net/data/reviews/images/10849.jpeg

Many QRP enthusiasts have used the various TenTec Argonaut transceivers. I never have, so what follows is not from personal experience. The latest Argonaut VI misses 6m, 12m, and 60m and seems expensive, at least here in the UK.

The image on the LHS (above) resides on the www.eham.net site and will be removed if linking to it is an issue.

To identify the older Argonaut models, Ten Tec have a "knowledge base" page to help.  See http://www.tentec.com/pages/Identifying-the-Argonaut-transceivers.html . Although the latest version is said to be very good, I am afraid I'll not be buying one. Price needs to be £799 or less in the UK and it needs the missing bands before I'd even look.

There are 22 reviews of the Argonaut VI on eHam.net. See http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/10849 . At an average of 4.5 out of 5, the score is not that good. The FT817 scores much better. People seem to love it or hate it. It apparently has a very quiet receiver and a very simple user interface.

I see that Ten Tec have dropped the USA price of the Argonaut VI to $849 for a package that now bundles the mic and 700Hz CW filter too. I suspect this is a desperate measure to shore up sales.  It would not surprise me if they went bust. Personally, I think the latest Argonaut VI was a mistake that Ten Tec now regret. These are personal views. I hope they survive and thrive, but please reduce the Argonaut VI price outside the USA too and, for goodness sake, add those missing bands!

Their Rebel open source CW rig sounds far more likely to succeed in my personal view.

Ten Tec is reputable make, not Japanese or Chinese, and I wish them well for the future. The commercial world is a tough place, so take nothing for granted.

Stateside reports yet again

Yet again, 10m opened to North America this afternoon. The earliest USA spot for me was at 1212z.  In a way, I was expecting to get some real, very long distance 10m DX spots today with my 500mW WSPR-AXE beacon but "only" Europe, Middle East and USA so far. I still remain very pleased with the little beacon.

Unique 10m WSPR spots received so far today (500mW)

UPDATE 1755z:  The last 10m WSPR spot of my 500mW beacon seems to have been at 1722z by WG2Z (5600km). Since then just spots from local G4IKZ (18km).

UPDATE 1840z:  My little W5OLF 10m beacon has just been switched off.

Multi-band WSPRing?

Now I have my fully stand-alone 10m WSPR-AXE unit, I should be able to WSPR on MF (with the earth-electrode antenna) or on 6m at the same time. I have yet to try this out but this means I can WSPR on 2 bands at once should I want. 6m might be fun although I've had no success to date lately on 6m.

10m WSPR-AXE reports

So far this morning (it is now 1045z) I have received 50 separate reports using my 10m WSPR-AXE 500mW beacon (sent to me by W5OLF). The little, fully self-contained, beacon (no PC needed) works very well indeed. After about 20 minutes settling time, the drift is essentially zero. Some of the reports below show the beacon still settling. I thoroughly recommend this unit. It is such FUN to use and see all the reports coming in. Just a single small PCB and it fits in a small enclosure. With my poor voice, it is an excellent way of enjoying the hobby and checking propagation - all at very low cost too. What I like is that it is all on a single PCB. Although the Ultimate 3 kit  from Hans Summers covers more modes and is less expensive, it is on several PCBs and is slightly more complex. The W5OLF WSPR-AXE beacon matches my needs perfectly.

Unique 10m WSPR spots to 1045z today with WSPR-AXE beacon

UPDATE 1148z:   Spots this morning being received from right across Europe from Finland (OH) in the north to Italy (I) in the south and Ukraine (UR) and Bulgaria (LZ) in the east, plus Israel (4X), all with the tiny WSPR-AXE 500mW unit. Further afield later?

UPDATE 2000z:  Apart from the very many spots from the USA, no other DX was spotting me. I was hoping for a spot from Australia, but that will have to be on another day. Judging by my reports so far, I think this is just a matter of time.

Sunspots

Sunspot number is a little up on yesterday at 89. 10m propagation is expected to be "good" so I am very hopeful of some really long distance F2 reports of my little W5OLF WSPR-AXE 10m 500mW beacon. Already it has received 50 spots from Eastern Europe and Israel.

QRP radios

I continue to be surprised by how few affordable QRP radios are on the market. The FT817ND continues to be the favourite, but recent exchange rate changes have not been matched by decent falls in the UK retail prices. I think we are still being ripped off by dealers in the UK. The IC703 is no longer made and the KX3 from Elecraft is very expensive over here. There are a few lower cost Chinese HF radios appearing. Overall, there remains little choice in QRP transceivers at sensible prices. I am sure the KX3 is a very good radio but for the same price I can buy 2 FT817 transceivers, and these are all mode and to 70cms.

A multi-band, all mode, 5-10W radio would be a killer in this age where people take lots of holidays and are on the move frequently. I still fail to understand why the big Japanese manufacturerers have not got a raft of low cost units on the market. It seems a gold mine opportunity is being wasted. Maybe I have misread the market?

I know if there was a new, attractively featured, QRP transceiver on the market now at a sensible price I'd be in the line to buy. I am sure very many others would be too.

10m stateside

Conditions on 10m today definitely seem poorer than yesterday. I am still using my little 500mW WSPR beacon by W5OLF.  There were spots all day from UR/SWL56 and this afternoon from 4X1RF (3519km), all afternoon. So far, 4X1RF has spotted me 20 times.

My first USA spot was WG2Z (5600km) at 1220z. Since then I have had USA spots from several USA stations, but I think fewer than yesterday.  The W5OLF WSPR-AXE 10m 500mW beacon really does work, without a PC. I am still in awe that something so small and beautiful is copyable so far away. It would fit in an Altiods tin - a real favourite with QRPers.

The beacon is still on and running, but I don't expect any magically far DX between now and switch off, which will probably be around 1830z.

UPDATE 1902z:  I am just about to turn off my little W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon. The last stateside station to spot my 500mW was KB9AMG (6300km) at 1712z - no other spots since. Definitely conditions on 10m were not as good as yesterday.  Still, yet again the 10m band was open to the USA and 500mW was quite enough. Worse report was -25dB S/N with most reports in the teens suggesting even less power would have been enough.

UPDATE 1910z:   10m WSPR beacon is now off.

Using my W5OLF beacon again on 10m WSPR (500mW)

Since about 5 minutes ago, I am again WSPR beaconing using 500mW from the tiny W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon. It is still settling, but already being spotted well in southern Ukraine by UR/SWL56 (2283km) at -14dB S/N.

UPDATE 1055z:   At the moment only UR/SWL56 has spotted me. It looks like conditions are NOT as good as yesterday?

Sunspots

The sunspot count today has hardly changed at 70 and 10m propagation is likely to be "fair". It looks like we can expect 10m to be rather like Tuesday.

How do they ever make a profit?

On the internet you can buy a dual-band handheld with antenna, battery, chargers(2), earpiece and belt clip for just £25.29. At this price I find it unbelievable they can make a profit. I think it is even cheaper if you buy a batch of 3.
 .
See http://www.banggood.com/LBaofeng-UV-5RA-Yellow-Dual-Band-Transceiver-Radio-Wakie-Talkie-p-947385.html  .

Shipping is just 29p. shipped to the UK by registered air parcel. It is available in a variety of case colours.

70cm UKAC this evening (5W QRP)

70cms 5W QSOs this evening from home  
- best DX 105km

After less than an hour I had to stop to save my poor voice from further strain.

I worked 8 stations in 3 grid squares before I HAD to stop. I heard a station in IO81 but failed to work him as my beam (5el hand rotated) was way off.  Best DX was just 105km. Had I managed to stay in the contest longer, then I am sure more QSOs would be in the log. My normal 70cms range seems to be up to about 200km.

Conditions seemed poor and activity was lower than in the summer. I guess better weather brings out more portable stations. Most stations worked were fixed i.e at home or on club premises.   At this time of the year people prefer to stay home.  I cannot blame them!

Last USA spot this evening

WG2Z (5600km) seems to have been the last station in North America to spot my 500mW W5OLF WSPR beacon at 1716z. Since then, just local G4IKZ (18km) has been spotting me. I am very impressed with Jay's little beacon - it works very well.

UPDATE 1900z:   Went QRT on 10m WSPR at about 1900z as all DX seems to have stopped now.

70cms UKAC this evening

2000z to 2230z this evening (Nov 11th) is the next 70cms UK activity contest. Although my voice is poor, I shall try to come on for about an hour this evening. Contacts out to around 200km seem to be possible from the home QTH using 5W SSB and my hand-rotated 5 element beam. As it is now cold and dark and autumn, I suspect there may be less activity?   Activity is usually good with plenty of stations to work.

This is a very friendly sort of contest: just reports, serial numbers and QTH locators exchanged.   I only enter contests for fun, never to win, especially with my low power! If you can, come on 70cm SSB this evening.  Your presence would be welcomed warmly.

See http://www.rsgbcc.org/vhf/ for dates and times of all UKAC sessions.  These are excellent sessions.

Using the W5OLF 500mW 10m WSPR beacon today

W5OLF WSPR beacon - complete - no PC needed

This WSPR-AXE really is a very impressive little rig, in my case for 10m WSPR.  Because of my current disabled state -  I find all electronics building just about impossible - Jay very kindly sold me a built unit to evaluate. Results in just a few hours of operating have been truly impressive. No PC is needed as long as the push button is pressed at the start of an even minute. Jay says it stays stable for weeks thereafter. I ran mine for 3.5 hours and got masses of decodes. After lunch it has been getting LOTS of spots from the USA. I am sure it will reach Australia soon.

The unit needs about 15 minutes to frequency stabilise and is always on (the PA can be turned off), but it randomises the slots within the WSPR transmit window. This means it is unlikely to be "clobbered" by more powerful stations or cause others co-channel issues. 500mW seems plenty. In a word - BRILLIANT.

Best DX report (so far) today is FR1GZ (9724km).

10m WSPR - unique spots with the W5OLF beacon today, arranged by distance

If you want to buy one Jay W5OLF may be contacted on w5olf@comcast.net .

Sunspots - Nov 11th

Sunspot number has dropped to 68 and 10m daytime propagation is "fair". 10m is open to the USA again from here with my first USA spot (with 500mW) being at 1206z from WG2Z (5600km).

UPDATE 1510z:   Best DX report today (so far) is from K9AN (6505km).

Sunspots

Sunspot count today is 78 and 10m daytime propagation is forecast to be "fair".  Already by F2, 4X1RF is copying my 500mW 10m WSPR well and Karen RA3APW's 100mW Moscow 10m WSPR beacon is being copied here well.

Amateur radio on Wikipedia

For the current Wikipedia "take" on amateur radio take a look at this link below.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio .

472kHz WSPR

Since just before 1800z I QSYed to 472kHz WSPR using my 5mW ERP from my indifferent "strapped feeder" antenna.  Best DX spot so far this evening is by PA0RDT (243km) at 1900z although I expect better later.

UPDATE 2248z: The best spot, so far, of my 5mW ERP is by G3XKR (347km) in IO70ux square in North Devon.

Australia on 10m WSPR - 500mW

Just before lunch time VK5MR (16144km) managed to copy my 10m QRP (500mW) WSPR at -21dB S/N implying he might just have copied me at 50mW ERP.

Again, the band was wide open to the USA after lunch. The first USA station to spot my 500mW 10m WSPR was W3CSW at 1206z.

Last USA spot of me looks like it was N2BJW (5262km) at 1724z. Since then just locals spotting me.   I have now moved to MF with 5mW ERP.

Sunspots

Sunspot number is 92 today and 10m propagation expected to be "fair" although based on recent days that seems to suggest F2 propagation should be expected.

UPDATE 1900z:   It turned out to be an excellent day on 10m with lots of USA spots and a very decent spot of my 500mW from Australia. 10m is still at its best.

10m WSPR - results overnight

G0LRD (25km) running 50mW was coming through all night. At around 0630z UA6AAK (2780km) started to come through by F2.

10m WSPR overnight

Rather than QSY to MF I have decided to stick with 10m overnight tonight. Just G4IKZ spotting my 500mW since tea time, but it will be interesting to see who I spot first in the early hours and who spots my 500mW outsie of the UK. I have a good idea who this might be!